Price gouging in Harris County

Some cease and desist orders have already gone out to those dirty bastards who have been accused of price gouging in Harris County during and after the storm. Isiah Carey had a chance to chat with Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and he says stopping these unscrupulous business owners can't be done without your help.
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[@rickharris8780]

"Some dirty ass bastards" You sir just made me laugh and that is pretty hard right now. I had to sleep with my 7 year old boy in our car to stay cool.

[@DiabolikalFollikles]

They don’t call it “uncensored” for nothing. I love it. Call it what it is. 🖤

I couldn't believe my ears. It sounded a lot like swearing, but it's completely benign, descriptive, and apropos.

[@darrylmitch4233]

You didn't have to sleep in car, you chose too🤣❗

[@Tbrew-zd6xb]

Get a hotel

[@none_ya001]

​​@@Tbrew-zd6xb Man some of you people are ignorant. Lmao Hotels are either without power or at full capacity right now because of others without electricity renting all the rooms. When it's 105 to 110 heat index down here after the storm. People have to do what they have to do. Not to mention some hotels are even price gouging right now. Smdh.

[@henlar0076]

Should we call the county attorneys office over the GOUGING of property taxes?

[@cormaro13]

😂 he doesn’t control that fool , talk to your town dumb dumb

[@darrylmitch4233]

No, he don't wanna talk🗣️ to y'all❗🤣

[@CharlieBrown843]

🎯

[@benschulz8073]

@@henlar0076 you right about that

[@TimJBucci]

Call Joe Biden.

[@brycemay5898]

Bro I did not expect that start 😂😂😂😂

[@salvyballacc]

That's Houston baby 😂

[@sergioarredondo9465]

Isiah is a REAL ONE! 😂😂 respect 🫡

[@ameliatribeofissachar7311]

Love the way he tells it like it is 🤣

[@lsx6233]

MOTELS SAY 69$ ONLINE WHEN YOU SHOW UP IN PERSON THEY ARE OVER 120$!! HOW CAN PEOPLE BE SO FUCKING SELFISH

[@StrengthNLove]

Don't have to curse ,but people are wrong for for tryin to hurt the Hurting

[@MatthewSmith13216]

@@StrengthNLove probably okay to in this situation

[@magaareinbredhillbillies]

city collect hotel tax to pay for things.

[@AlexisGodinezTrans]

Gotta respect the hustle

[@JennyWang-c8m]

@@MatthewSmith13216yeah it might be horrible thing to do but maybe they had no choice to gouge because ppl are fleeing every where and going crazy. Let’s just say bad luck just hit some of us.

[@StrengthNLove]

When these storms come you see where folks hearts are may God help us on this Earth

[@SamMaciel]

Statisically, most of these people are likely followers of God. Who's side is he taking yours or theirs? I'm sure they would defend their stance. Edit: spelling is hard..

[@JakeBor]

​@@SamMacielStatistically

[@healingv1sion]

Yep. People want to believe a community is so kind but when an event like this happens, the truth comes out

[@bigdaddygabriel]

@@healingv1sionlook at what mattress mack has done during this

[@josephsanchez2481]

Sad people taking advantage of others!

[@JennyWang-c8m]

No hotel managers 😂

[@cynthiawanek8353]

How about doing something about the prices sky rocketing from insurance, food, power bills and all the corruptions.

[@UltralifeTech]

Voting Trump is my plan

[@Justin_Beaver564]

@@UltralifeTech Trump won't fix anything even if he could

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

@cynthiawanek8353 Not concerned with the heat anymore? You got your power back.

[@cormaro13]

How is a news station going to change the economy Karen ? , stop being stupid 😂

[@cormaro13]

Cause the news definitely has that power Karen , go back to your trailer park fool

[@andremiller5362]

This has been going on for years

[@irwinsaltzman979]

Thank you. It’s been called surge pricing.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

​@@irwinsaltzman979capitalism

[@ChaosMarine9118]

I’m sorry, I couldn’t get past the first 7 seconds. I’ve got tears in my eyes. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@mibz1117]

As a business owner here in ga , f all of those businesses that take advantage to people in extreme need.

[@OMBP20]

YOU TELL'EM ISIAH!!!

[@Bryspider336]

I love this guy , people we need to report

[@USER---FA]

My husband brought the water case from gas station for $8.99!! 😢 its sad!!

[@michellem7300]

Go refill gallon jugs at grocery stores, much cheaper and less waste

[@Justin_Beaver564]

At least he got the water

[@denisekoltys3019]

@@michellem7300sure, in a perfect world yes - it’s crazy ppl weren’t ready. I watched that storm for at least 10 days to 2 weeks from African -- life gets in the way and it just sometimes doesn’t happen. Ppl working very long hours and they didn’t even know. Ppl recovering from Illnesses or just released from the hospital, ppl new to the area. Then there’s ppl by the thousands who “didn’t think it’d be this bad” and the ones who couldn’t afford to prepare. But imo we got to this desperation point because ppl let their tree canopy’s grow unabated and the storm was able to grab the trees and pull them out of the ground. I’ve lived with huge 100+ yo trees. You have to have them heavily trimmed every 2-3 years or your risking your home and car. You can’t just allow them to grow Willy Nilly.

[@andrewanderson5948]

It’s the Indians and Arabs. They buy that stuff cheap then sell it 2x the price

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

report it

[@paulrosner2724]

What a productive and informative conversation..thank you gentlemen. In today's world of sound bites, you are a fine example of how to do it right. Thank you and God bless

[@TheDigitalslayer]

Next …. I’d like to hear them cover if there is price gouging / price fixing going on the pharmaceutical companies and U.S. healthcare system to see how they cover it.

[@DonaldJ22]

For real though....that's the real theft. Insurance and Rx prices and associated manipulation.

[@randallalan4221]

Medical and pharmaceuticals in America are absolutely predatory animals!

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

@TheDigitalslayer IF?

[@cormaro13]

😂 the news won’t do anything about that , pharmaceutical controls them

[@helenpauls1496]

@@cormaro13Corporations basically control America.

[@avlivinggolden]

There should be a consequence. These businesses should be heavily fined. A list on the state website showing the public what they have done. . No consequences. They'll keep doing this over and over every storm every storm.

[@brianwt1]

There’s a reason why they should have declared a state of emergency it prevents price grouging like this.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

delay declaration .. profit!

[@cormaro13]

😂 it wasn’t a state of emergency tho

[@brianwt1]

@@cormaro13 the people of Houston are acting like it was.

[@cormaro13]

@@brianwt1 the people of Houston get flooded from a basic thunder storm and still call it state of emergency 😂 they fine

[@none_ya001]

​​@@brianwt1 Do you live around here? I live when it came in at and it was a pretty gnarly Cat 1 tbh. The wind was the worst. But I've been through worse. Power being out is the worst inconvenience. Don't know if you've ever experienced one yourself but they are scary. Just saying.

[@Chubbydippin]

And yet the auto industry and it's stealerships have been getting away with this for decades regardless of storms or inflation being high or low. But we're good with that because they're BIG BUISNESS.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

i'm not good with it

[@sherryamanfor]

I'm feeling now exhausted no electricity sleeping in my car to stay cool like a homeless person

[@kimberlyc8983]

Lack of integrity from so many these days. What happened to genuine care and concern for fellow mankind?? Times are already hard and unmanageable for lots of folks, so why take advantage in a real time of need? Despicable!!!

[@Justin_Beaver564]

Supply and demand. No one is taking advantage of anyone.

[@kimberlyc8983]

@@Justin_Beaver564 whatever

[@Justin_Beaver564]

@@Operator_68 Their's no labor shortage

[@Justin_Beaver564]

@@kimberlyc8983 Basic economics isn't whatever. You have to understand the rules of reality if you want to live a prosperous life.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

​@@Justin_Beaver564 free market blah blah

[@dnic2374]

Gas station gas price was 2.99 before storm same store after 3.50

[@TexasBorn_TexasRaised]

No doubt. A gas station I frequent on beltway 8 and Tomball highway did that exact thing. 2.89 one day next 3.30 smh

[@Cenlalowell]

This means people need to prepare better BEFORE the storm. Why the hell don't people have gas stored?

[@KitKatTX]

I paid $4.49 for gas today. Ridiculous

[@SamWilkinsonn]

It’s a good idea imo, it stops people getting more than they need

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

@dnic2374 i hope you reported it

[@GeorgeHathcoat]

Always happens during a storm always happens during anything always a bunch of cooks out there

[@SeboMcDowell69420]

LOVE THE FIRE YOU BROUGHT ON THIS INTERVIEW 🔥🔥🔥

[@MrAtlprince29]

Every hotel I looked at had inflated their prices. Marriott wanted 269 a night for a room that's normally 109 a night. I was sick to my stomach looking at hotel cost. And the ones that was normal rate were without power that they failed to remove from their website. It was many people who were priced out and had to sleep in their cars.

[@srrunningcloud]

great story thank you for caring

[@christy3d]

For the folks telling people get a hotel room , not everyone has additional funds to go pay for a hotel room. Remember the average person just paid rent a week before the storm. If she gotta take her child to the car for ac so be it🤷‍♀️

[@thelastdragon5551]

💯

[@larissanolan9969]

AirBNB ppl do it too, they did it to my mom when the Derecho happened. I told her to report

[@catmejia6109]

I ❤❤❤❤ you Isiah , you’re the voice we need in these times, a million thank yous for being you…you stand out a million times for your realistic and relatable reporting….absolutely love you …get them, follow this up with the companies that are doing this once this is all over so we can never go back to their establishments 🎯🎯🎯

[@justaskme2904]

We need to remember which companies did this during this time and not patronize them when things go back to normal.

[@benschulz8073]

I don’t understand. Why don’t people have a back up plan ? In a storm. You you kow where you live. And have really bad storms like this every year. Have a plan in place for your family don’t rely on government. We are Texans!! stand strong my brother and sisters

[@univisiontech1]

Well said

[@thelastdragon5551]

At the VERY least, fill up your tank(s), get 2 cases of water, canned food and a phone power bank ALL before for hurricane. ANYBODY with a job/home can do that.

[@turquoiseshopaholic]

Shut the hell up

[@johnbostic4063]

Stay strong , I live in a parish called st Bernard which borders new orleans, we were completely wiped out by hurricane Katrina, I know what ur going through

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

Yes, yours was much worse. Hurricane Harvey is a little more comparable.

[@none_ya001]

​@@mike_w-tw6jd Yup. Harvey was terrible too. We rode that one out back then. We were on higher ground thankfully but places around us flooded pretty bad.

[@butternutz3556]

Love the way you frased that

[@PaulHai-j9n]

In TX gouging was going on for years even more presently.!!!!!!

[@johnmejia1876]

A 24 pack of water at walmart is 7 dollars?? That doesnt seem right

[@Adam.H-s6h]

I paid 5 something way before the storm and it’s still the same after the storm,yes at Walmart. Name brand is always higher that the store brands

[@Novahs-xc9of]

Thanks for your service

[@iguanarana]

Pray Pray Pray! The government is not here for you but GOD is. Stay still and pray

[@chrisrodriguez7351]

That makes sense why the corner store by my house (which has full power btw), is only accepting cash despite having a fully functional card reader. If there's no paper record or digital records of you price gouging then you can't really prove it

[@unrulypeasantr3911]

Call the IRS reporting hotline and report them for tax evasion.

[@CD-hp6zy]

I've seen a lot of places with full power but telecom is down so they can't process credit cards. So nothing necessarily nefarious about that.

[@abbphotoandvideo622]

Uber and Lyft do this at every event. And don't think that money goes to the drivers. Most goes into Uber and Lyft pockets.

[@Bentley-i7r]

Where's greg abbot flying around while Texas is dark

[@worldwidesports4k]

Samething Ted Cruz did a few years ago in the winter freez dude left town like he knew something was coming.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

he dont care

[@armyboy0579]

Criminal Ken Paxton is also nowhere to be seen.

[@Lily-wp8ol]

Abbott is in Japan. He SAYS he is at a "financial summit ".

[@stephanie_smith]

What about your precious Lena Hildalgo?

[@captainjoemama]

Only the government can gauge guy's!

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

why not women?

[@haroldrice-dd1mv]

Richmond hotels was charging 350 a night for a room

[@virginiataylor8874]

I figured this was going to happen.

[@armyboy0579]

Ken Paxton nowhere to be seen?

[@Wokemindvirus-a12]

Yall need to tell black people to stop cutting in line .. Getting out of hand someone gonna get hurt. 🙏🏾

[@thelastdragon5551]

I’ve seen Hispanics and whites do it the other day getting gas.

[@NakiaLee-ik5ul]

Love me some Isaiah, he is always on it🤭♥️

[@davidnorth3411]

Start with having all Texas Gas stations listing the prices of items they sell in their stores . You pay their premium price on everything , they hold us hostage with fuel as a commodity , the core of our economy does not have to be a decoy , finding a way out of their dependence is preparing for the future , this supply is not infinite but the profit makers seems to be our reality .

[@Adam.H-s6h]

You pay more for the convenience.

[@MrBmenard]

Inflation sounds a lot like price gouging (which I do believe is illegal)

[@murphyville]

Definitely price gouging! Gas, hotels… all of that!!!

[@obits3]

What is “excessive” in this case? You say a dollar a gallon more for gas is excessive, but is it really? The gas station is open and running out of gas. People are grabbing gas for cars and generators. If you don’t do some raising of the price, won’t that cause a shortage for those who really need it? When supply is limited, locking down prices just means those who are physically able to get there first will get all the stuff. You need to let prices rise a to incentivize people to only buy what they need. Now, I understand we don’t want people charging so much that only the super rich people can get the stuff, but why not cap it at increasing the price by half? For example, if gas was normally $3, you can go up to $4.50 to keep people from buying up more than they need.

[@WaveGod813]

Hotel charging 10k a night smdh

[@Bnguyen276]

??? What hotel charges 10k a day? Motel 6?

[@magaareinbredhillbillies]

Sound like trump hotel.

[@mike_w-tw6jd]

​@Bnguyen276 He said night, different kind of hotel.

[@thelastdragon5551]

@@mike_w-tw6jdExplain

[@angelesleon1394]

It’s been this way even before the storm…

[@GodFlame666]

Hotels in Rosenberg Tx are charging double the price per night.

[@weekendnomad5038]

This is every business here 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 the generators , the gas , the hotels

[@darrylmitch4233]

That's good❗

[@variblex]

Hmm...when will the government stop gouging

[@gusgarza6529]

I figured there would be price gouching after a Hurricane. Happens everytime & everywhere. 😢

[@MoogieB]

Did he just say what I thought I heard??

[@caldillman5334]

Why am I not surprised?

[@MissTXTee]

The guy at the gas station charged us $7 for a small bag of ice! 😂

[@TheJazzyRedTalkShow]

All states do it! And it’s bad! Here in alabama people come from out of town to sell water generators anything they know that people will need! We old school know what to do. We prepare but some family’s are hurting and don’t need for anyone to be price gouging

[@john-ms9sc]

I got charged $108 for 3 cans of propane when earlier in the morning it was 27$ a can. Harris county humble 1960

[@jamarionsparks3302]

Call Harris County Attorney office you can report price gouging on business

[@TheOnlyKosis]

Do the food corporations and housing market next. They gouge prices all the time.

[@lawabidingdad]

Online purchased a generator for 500 now 600

[@josetoro1428]

Go by my neighborhood and see that most gas stations have raised prices between $0.30 to $0.50 per gallons

[@blossom9817]

Been had power the day after the storm ❤

[@shefromdc]

All of the gas stations have increased their fuel prices from $.60-$1

[@everybuddy5924]

That was a waste of my time. Only talked about possible price gouging, but no actual price gouging ClickBait Fox News.

[@c0dymach1ne]

I live in sealy we had people coming from Katy filling up our hotels for triple the rate.

[@alexciocca4451]

The whole US economy is built on price gouging but that’s America

[@_eaturveggies01]

Take your business elsewhere and leave the business a horrible review 😊! (Also file a complaint)

[@benperry1298]

VRBO is renting properties with no power and making you go through the chat to try and get a refund.

[@josefuc]

ALL THOSE WEAK POLES 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

[@vaughnhill3437]

It ain't just Harris county. I live in southeast liberty county and our gas station we use all the time went from 298 to 315 over night

[@rosspinkey3315]

Popeyes is raising their

[@Atochabsh]

unpolicable.

[@bc0601]

Ask about 1M houstonians what a generator is worth by now!

[@RupertLaLageIV]

@bc0601 During Hurricane Ike, a relative of mine had to pay $999.00 for a generator. He was without power for three months due to extensive damage to his home which was 50 miles from Galveston. He gave it to another relative in need, a few years ago, and now has a Generac.

[@thelastdragon5551]

I can see people taking advantage of places like Costco. Buy it for these situations and then return it once it’s not needed anymore. Rinse, repeat.

[@Yasinnguyen]

77099 bissonnet there was a gas station charging $6 on gas. For low gas. Bissonet from beltway 8 and up on Bissonet looking for highway 6

[@unrulypeasantr3911]

Call the number posted in this video and report it.

[@Yasinnguyen]

@@unrulypeasantr3911 thank you I will trust me. These ppl shop owners living in sugar land with light and taking advantage of the good ppl. I will trust me

[@HappyYummmy]

As long as my customers keep coming into my store I will not stop to sell at the new adjusted prices, supply and demand yo!

[@theripper20031]

What about Montgomery County

[@makthepharack]

Hilton is $1000

[@patwyliee8068]

It's pure greed and it's most common in low income neighborhoods where there are no Walmarts ,Kroger, HEB, Randall's and because of this these smaller stores attitude is pure greed ❤😂❤😂❤

[@Sabrina-01]

I was ripped off on food .

[@MrHoustonmichael]

No power at libraries for 3 days stopped help. Put power generators there

[@loukramer152]

Businesses exist to maximize profits and when supply is low, and demand is high the resulting higher prices incentivize suppliers to supply more of a good while also incentivizing consumers to conserve or look for alternatives - the free market is the most efficient mechanism for scarce resource allocation. Price controls on the other hand disallow the natural price equilibrium from taking form which results in long lines and shortages.

[@momscience399]

The price of hotels up to San Antonio are flipping insane! I said two days ago they were price gouging.

[@bboyizzy]

This is soo fucked up on soo many levels

[@RestynPeece]

contractors doing the same...where do we report them. im getting estimates all over the place.

[@dstew0606]

Christian Menefee! My guy. 😎💪🏾

[@kimberlyguillen7324]

Hmm so let us gather up all the updates from the beginning as proof they knew certain things and could have just made the decision immediately to prevent this chaos.

[@jjwien8593]

This happens during Harvey, ACE Hardware suddenly increases the price of their generator before the Hurricane. They should be fined for this criminal act.

[@asilcastle]

I should definitely look into this. I passed by a gas station that listed $9.62/gal for regular. I didnt get a chance to snap a pic of it.

[@121Corey121]

Maybe some of us STILL work our main job, while without power. Do you think I can take up a second job cutting trees, reporting, ect? I wish I could. I'm to fucking tired bro!

[@johnnyking2965]

Home Depot in Conroe on generators. Seen someone post pics. One minute they were 699.00 then 2 hours later they were priced at 999.00.

[@GodFlame666]

All stores in Needville Texas are price gouging. 4 to $5 a gallon of gas.

[@vavasd1069]

How do we have the electric companies investigated around here? $500 electric bills... Talking about I use more electricity at night!!!! When I'm sleep?😂

[@jeffwreckz2254]

How am i paying $3.30 at the gas stations in the hood but HEB and walmart got it at $2.89

[@stuartewoldt1513]

We know who the price Gougers are ......Buddy

[@Yasinnguyen]

Dude I love your shoe your the voice the ppl need to don’t have one or don’t know how to get to these sources. Love you man fr God Bless you Mr Isaiah. I met you at the corner store one day, you’re really nice there on Weslayan and 59 lol Latino dude. See ya bud good job 👏

[@jasonbaxter5502]

Lol every car dealer.

[@pdfads]

Maybe Harris County should temporarily waive its ridiculously high supplemental taxes on lodging?